Wednesday, April 2, 2003
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Penn State Provost Warns Students That They Could Go to Prison for Illegal File SharingBy SCOTT CARLSON
An administrator at Pennsylvania State University at University Park has sent a stern e-mail message to students, warning that sharing copyrighted material through the Internet could lead to fines and imprisonment under federal law. The message has some students at Penn State wondering if the university is stepping up its efforts to stop file sharing, and if it is bending to pressures from the recording industry in doing so. The message, which is signed by the provost, Rodney A. Erickson, details various punishments that students could face if they are caught downloading music or movies. The loss of Internet privileges, a standard punishment at many colleges, is mentioned, but the message also threatens expulsion, $250,000 fines, and the possibility of facing federal perjury charges. The message also mentions cases in which students have been sent to jail for copyright infringement. "The bottom line is that there is a potentially high price to pay for an illegally copied computer program, movie, or recording," Mr. Erickson writes in the message, sent on Monday. "Messing up your future is a steep price to pay for music or a video." Mr. Erickson dispatched his message about a month after a hearing on illegal file sharing, held by a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives, at which Graham B. Spanier, the president of the university, was scolded by lawmakers who insisted that universities weren't doing enough to solve the problem (The Chronicle, March 14). Mr. Spanier also recently helped set up a committee of university administrators and entertainment-industry executives to discuss the file-sharing issue. But Mr. Erickson said his message was not a reaction to those events. Rather, it is merely a standard part of the university's educational campaign on file sharing. "This is not the first message that I have sent out about the issue," he said, adding that he sent out a letter in 2000, when Napster was popular. "This is part of our continuing efforts to inform students about copyright and to make sure they understand that there are consequences for illegal file-sharing activity." Mr. Erickson said that the university was suspending the Internet accounts of students who were found downloading protected music or movies. He said the university would not give the names of students to the entertainment industry for prosecution unless so ordered by a court. However, the tone of the message struck some students. "It was a rather stern e-mail," said D. Joshua Troxell, a junior who is the president of the student Academic Assembly. Mr. Troxell said he was going to talk to administrators about the message and ask whether the university was going to increase penalties for file sharing, or if the university was working with the industry. "That was one of my greatest concerns." Some students in his office were worried about the message. "The few people that I discussed it with said, Does this mean that I'm under investigation? It says here that there is prison time. That tone was meant to definitely shock some people, but it may have caused some confusion." Justin J. Leto, a senior majoring in computer engineering, sent the note to Politech, a technology-oriented online discussion forum. He thinks the message is the result of pressure from the recording industry, and notes that Barry K. Robinson, senior counsel for corporate affairs at the Recording Industry Association of America, sits on Penn State's Board of Trustees. "The stakes are rising," he said. "They are threatening imprisonment and fines. This is not what we were talking about a month ago. A month ago we were talking about a slap on the wrist and having your Internet account taken away." "We have heard stories about the RIAA monitoring and tracking people's online use, identifying people who have downloaded copyright material, and prosecuting them," Mr. Leto said. "I'm waiting for the day when we'll see network administrators at Penn State doing the grunt work for the RIAA." Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America, said the industry group had nothing to do with e-mail warning at Penn State, but was enthusiastic about its contents. "This is welcome news," he said. "We are gratified when colleges like Penn State take steps to educate their students that downloading or offering copyrighted music off a pirate peer-to-peer network is against the law and has consequences."
The text of Mr. Erickson's e-mail message follows:
From: Office of the Provost
I have a serious message for you about making illegal copies of copyrighted material. While you may be tempted not to read this email, I suggest that you do so in order to better understand just what the risks and penalties are for violating the law. In recent years, high-speed computer networks and personal computers have made it easy to copy computer programs, movies, and recordings. Most of this material is copyrighted, which means the right to make copies is restricted. Making copies of any copyrighted material without the right to do so is against both state and federal law and University policy. Most people who make illegal copies know it is wrong, but are unaware of how severe the penalties can be. The US Copyright Law (Title 17 of the US Code) has very serious penalties for violations. These include significant fines for each copy. If you copy more than $1,000 worth of material, there are criminal penalties that include substantial fines of up to $250,000 and up to 10 years prison time for flagrant cases of infringement. The software, record, and movie industries are stepping up their enforcement of copyright laws. They are using computer technology to detect those who run servers or simply download something they have no right to possess. The likelihood of being caught is growing every day, and prosecutions will become more frequent. You may have downloaded copyrighted materials and not been caught, so you think you're safe from prosecution. I urge you to think again. Two students in Oregon were caught and prosecuted under the criminal statutes. One received a suspended two-year sentence, the other spent time in jail. A student in North Carolina spent 41 months in prison for copyright infringement. Messing up your future is a steep price to pay for music or a video. What happens at Penn State if you are caught? By statute, the University must immediately block your network access when we receive notification that a particular computer has been involved in a violation of the law. You may also be taken to court by the copyright holder or charged in the federal courts with a crime. That is not all that can happen. You should know that falsely certifying either that you have the right to material or have removed it can result in federal perjury charges as well as copyright infringement. What else does Penn State do? When we receive a complaint, student offenders are referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs and employees to the Office of Human Resources. Why? Because it is illegal and against University policy to infringe on someone's copyright. A student can be expelled and an employee terminated under University policy. The bottom line is that there is a potentially high price to pay for an illegally copied computer program, movie, or recording. Stealing is stealing and against the law, regardless of how you try to justify it. Thank you for your cooperation.
Rodney A. Erickson
Background articles from The Chronicle:
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 U.S. Supreme Court hears affirmative-action cases from Michigan; questions signal cautious approach Thousands rally for affirmative action as justices hear U. of Michigan cases China eases way for foreign universities to offer degrees in the country Spring commencement speakers are announced by 11 colleges Penn State provost warns students that they could go to prison for illegal file sharing Dakota State U. sells access to its PeopleSoft installation for other colleges' classes |
Copyright © 2003 by The Chronicle of Higher Education